A militia member was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen along the Abaw–Duya road in Ye Township, Mon State, according to local sources.
The incident occurred around noon on July 12. The victim, known locally as Ko Karen, a man in his 50s from Duya village, was traveling by motorcycle from Duya to Ye when he was fatally shot in a paddy field area along the road.
“He was previously a soldier with an armed group, but now he was working with the People’s Militia (commonly referred to as Da.Lan, those who collaborate with the military junta). We’re not sure whether he was carrying a weapon at the time of the incident,” said a local resident from Ye.
Following the shooting, military junta troops arrived in the area and set up security checkpoints on roads leading into the village, temporarily restricting vehicle movement, the source added.
His body was transported by the Duya Village Social Assistance Team to Ye General Hospital, where an autopsy was conducted. He was later cremated at the Duya village cemetery.
Witnesses stated that the attackers were Mon-speaking armed individuals and believed they were likely members of a local resistance group.
Since the military seized power in 2021, local administrators, government staff, and individuals affiliated with the junta have increasingly become targets of assassination in Ye Township.
Despite the rise in targeted killings in Mon State, no armed group has officially claimed responsibility for such operations, and investigations have yielded few concrete leads.
